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A European court has rejected Formula One Group's attempt to get exclusive rights to the "F1" abbreviation as a trademark.
The Genreal Court in Luxembourg was ruling on an appeal by Formula One Licensing, the commercial rights arm of FOG, against a decision by the trademark agency OHIM in 2007.
The General Court in Luxembourg, Europe's second-highest court, said on Thursday that "Formula One Licensing cannot prevent the registration of a (European) Community trademark containing the words 'F1 LIVE'." There is no likelihood of confusion between the mark applied for and Formula One Licensing's marks, given the low degree of similarity between the marks and the descriptive character that the public attributes to the abbreviation 'F1', the ruling said.
The Formula One Group was seeking exclusive rights to "F1", "F1 Formula 1", "F1 Racing Simulation", "F1 Pole Position" and "F1 Pit Stop Cafe", according to the ruling's document.
The dispute began in 2004 when the Racing-Live company sought to register "F1 Live".
Over the years, the Formula one Group and Bernie Ecclestone have fought many battles around the world in their attempts to protect what they believe is solely theirs.
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